- Today we're gonna discuss incapacity planning, which along with proper estate planning, can really be the gift that keeps on giving.

Welcome to Two Minute Tuesday, where I attempt to discuss an estate planning topic in two minutes or less. Now, before we get started, if you're enjoying these videos every Tuesday, can you please do me a huge favor and hit the Subscribe Button in the right-hand corner below. I would really appreciate it.

Unfortunately, one of the scenarios we see play out a lot as attorneys is someone becoming incapacitated. If someone suddenly becomes incapacitated, and they have not done any planning, then their loved one will most likely need to go to court to become their legal guardian. Now, as you can imagine, it can be a very stressful time with a sick loved one, and then having to go down to the courthouse just to have the authority to take care of that loved one can be a nightmare.

The good news is that there's a better way. With a revocable living trust-centered estate plan, you can ensure that you will be taken care of during your lifetime according to your wishes. The best example I can give you is that probably 14 years ago, I helped a couple with their estate plan. Several years later, the wife came into my office because her husband had developed Alzheimer's, and was no longer able to take care of himself.

Now, because they had both come to us and we had tailored an estate plan to their specific needs, the wife was covered. She was able to continue running their life, paying their bills, dealing with their finances, and now, unfortunately, taking care of her husband. Now, it was still not easy for her at all. However, because they had together done proper estate planning, the business side of their life was not something that she had to worry about.

Not only did they have a revocable living trust customized to their specific needs, but they had also signed a durable power of attorney, a healthcare power of attorney, HIPAA authorizations, and advanced directives, sometimes called living wills.

Now, we'll be discussing all of these documents in future videos, however I have recently discussed durable power of attorneys. So if you'd like more information about that, check out that video.

Now, like I said earlier, all of these documents together allowed the wife to seamlessly continue the business side of their life, as well as give her the power to make medical decisions according to the husband's specific stated wishes. Now, think about that for a second.

If you can make healthcare decisions ahead of time, then your family just needs to follow your directions. This is a huge gift to your family. By making those decisions ahead of time, and not putting that heavy burden on them at a time that they're probably worried about a lot of other things.

Well, that's all for today. I'm not sure I made it under two minutes, but I think I came close. But if you enjoy these videos, then please like it below, and please hit the subscribe button below so you'll get our new videos every Tuesday. We appreciate you watching, and I'll see you next time. Thanks again!